Why should anybody in the 24th century speak with an accent even remotely resembling modern accents? Why is it when people who speak English intentionally speak in Klingon the universal translator misses it? Why do all the Klingons in Matter of Honor speak perfect English and why should they have to when Riker has a universal translator? How do aliens know so many human expressions but never inject expressions of their own origin into conversation?

Patrick could have done a French accent, and they could have written Picard as waxing eloquently on well known French events and historical figures while playing a little accordian. But if they had, I guarantee that right now we'd all be in a thread about Picard being a French stereotype.

Why not French? And why would he speak with an accent? It is possible to learn a language so well as to speak it without an accent. And if Picard speaks English as a second language, Britain's proximity would undoubtedly lead to him developing a British accent rather than a neutral one.

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Yeah Im British and I have never meet a Frenchie with a british accent.

Why not French? And why would he speak with an accent? It is possible to learn a language so well as to speak it without an accent. And if Picard speaks English as a second language, Britain's proximity would undoubtedly lead to him developing a British accent rather than a neutral one.

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Well given that French is classed as an obsecure language, wouldn't he most likely learn that as a second language and English as a First language. But we could just say that he was an Anglophile.

Patrick could have done a French accent, and they could have written Picard as waxing eloquently on well known French events and historical figures while playing a little accordian.

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Okay, if you feel that the producers were incapable of realistically portraying a starship captain with a cultural heritage other than Anglo-Saxon and the outcome would have inevitably been another Chekov comic relief, I guess it's better they gave him a British background.

To have a French guy say "hello" when he's supposed to say "cheers" ("santé") is embarrassing enough as it is.

I'll go with the theory that he was sent to prep and later a public (i.e. very expensive private) boarding school in the UK (some board kids as young as 5). If you spend that much time away from your parents, your accent will reflect that of the majority of the people around you (although to be fair, most second-generation immigrants speak the way the people around them speak, even if the native language of the immigrants is the same as that of their new country; I know a British couple who have retained their Yorkshire accents after 20 years in Sydney, but their teenage son speaks with a typical Aussie accent). It would also explain why Picard knows Shakespeare but not Voltaire and drinks tea rather than coffee, because if he was raised in the UK by British teachers and effective guardians, he might also pick up British cultural preferences and mannerisms.

Of course, the bottom line is that actors tend to influence how their characters are written, especially if they have skills that the producers want to showcase. Patrick Stewart was already an acclaimed 20-year veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company when he was cast as Picard, so there was no way the producers were going to pass up opportunities to put him before a camera doing Shakespeare, no matter what nationality his character was supposed to be. Which is the same reason that Riker played the trombone, Beverly Crusher was a dancer, Voyager's Doctor took up opera, etc.

Of course, the bottom line is that actors tend to influence how their characters are written, especially if they have skills that the producers want to showcase. Patrick Stewart was already an acclaimed 20-year veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company when he was cast as Picard...

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...and therefore should have portrayed a "damned good Brit" as it was foreseeable that he would probably suck playing a Frenchman. (Maybe that's why Q referred to him as Mr. "Pickert" in "Tapestry" and not "Picard")